iOS 7 Redesign Finally Comes to iBooks and iTunes U

If you've been wondering when Apple would finally update iBooks and iTunes U to match the iOS 7 aesthetic used for almost every other program, your wait is over. Today, Apple released a new version of iTunes U and its book app for both the iPad and the iPhone, along with an update to the store for the latter.

Perhaps the delay sprung from some reluctance on Apple's part. The design of the iBooks store was actually one of the most beloved incarnations of the old "skeuomorphic" designs, as it featured a welcoming wooden bookcase with your books seemingly placed on shelves. When you accessed the store, the shelf would spin, as though revealing a hidden passageway.

The new app, by contrast, retains the look of the arrangement of the books from before, but now they're set on a heavy white background. Clicking on the "Store" option now merely opens a new window. Judging from the app's review page, users are sharply divided about the look, with most commenters either seeming to love it or hate it.

The icons too have changed. Now iBooks has a gradient orange icon depicting an open book, while the one for iTunes U depicts a graduation cap. With this update, the only major app that still needs a facelift is Find My Fiends. As of right now, it still features the stitched leather that it's had for ages.